Destinys' Knot
by StarBerryLuck
Summary: Elliot Alisworth was a pre-war wife with pre-war hopes and dreams. She had met and fallen in love with her loving husband and was settling down for the good life with her husband and son, Shaun. Of course, all of that changed when the bombs fell and Elliot finds herself waking up in a world full of death and destruction and a will to survive this new wasteland she must call home.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One- _War.. War Never Changes..._

"... _We began to use atomic energy, not as a weapon, but as a nearly limitless source of power. People used luxuries that were once thought as science-fiction; domestic robots. Fusion-powered cars. Portable computers. But then, in the 21st century, people awoke from the American dream. Years of consumption led to shortage of every resource. The entire world unraveled. Peace became a distant memory. It is now the year 2077. We stand on the brink of total war. And I am afraid. For myself. For my wife. For my infant son. Because if my time in the army taught me one thing... It's that war... War never changes.."_

"You're gonna knock 'em dead at the next meeting, hun." Came the sweet voice of a woman with shoulder-length black hair standing amidst the doorway of a sliding bathroom door.

"You think?" Came the hesitant reply of a man with a chiseled jaw and strikingly handsome features. His dark gray eyes locking onto the woman as she smiled at him with a love and satisfaction only he knew.

"Of course. Now. Stop hogging the mirror." She said with a tease as she pushed herself from the door and made her way over to him.

The woman was beautiful. For the lack of a better word. She looked at her husband with those brilliant sky-blue eyes of hers as she leaned against the sink and turned her sharp features left and right. Not a scratched marred her smooth complexion and the man beside her found himself lost in the pool of her blue eyes.

He couldn't help but smile as he stood behind her as she fixed herself, making herself look as beautiful as she possibly could. She didn't even have to try. Even without the addition of the makeup she wore whenever they went out, she was as intimidating as ever. When she finished applying her pink lipstick, her eyes already lined with the black liner that made her eyes pop even more than before, she gave him that all-too-adoring smile of hers and pat his shoulder. Leaving him to his bidding as she turned in the hall to the living room and kitchen that made up the entryway of their luxurious home.

"Ah, good morning, mum! Your coffee! 173.5 Fahrenheit! Brewed to perfection! And, today's newspaper, just delivered!" Was the happy-go-lucky voice of the automated help hovering in the kitchen with the fresh jug of coffee ready to be placed back onto its maker.

Elliot couldn't help but to smile. She was glad for their purchase of the Mr. Handy unit once the baby was born. He had been a great help to them both just starting out raising a family. While he tended to baby Shaun during the nights, allowing Elliot and her husband the lap of luxury to sleep without ailment, they found themselves well rested to care for their son as Codsworth, they decided to name their robot friend, took care of the daily chores. With the occasion of Elliots' help, that is.

Despite having Codsworth around, Elliot felt there was always something to do around the house. Whether it was doing laundry or cleaning up dishes or even the simple task of changing a light bulb, she wouldn't allow Codsworth all the fun. She hummed a tune in her head that had been stuck there for the last couple hours as she grabbed her perfectly tempered coffee and sipped it, ignoring the burning sensation to her freshly painted lips.

She couldn't help but to smile as she looked the newspaper over only to see the newest advertisements for the latest issue of Grognak the Barbarian. Secretly, Elliot admired these things and her husband was the only one in the world who knew.

She was graced as a young girl with an older brother who was more or less the nerdy type and his daunting obsessions regarding the flow of comics into the household rubbed off onto her throughout their childhood. Both of their parents worked during the day and hadn't returned often until late in the evening, leaving the siblings alone to each other.

Elliot didn't mind. She found that reading had its' advantages expanding her cranium more than taking a risk with socializing to the girls of a middle and higher class. Elliot and her brother had gone to the finest school nearest their home in Sanctuary Hills but with all fine schools came the cliques and the prejudices of the poor man that Elliot and her brother managed to hide, seeking refuge in their comics soon as the day bell rang for school to end.

It was even at a junction that Elliot went to with her older sibling she ran into her husband, Nate. The soldier who had come home after serving his time in the Army. He was a little older than her but his charming smile and chiseled jaw and steel gray eyes caught her attention, sending her mind whirling, straight into a nearby jock and his pretty gal. Things had been about to get rough when her knight in damaged armor had come to her rescue.

It was at that point that Elliot and her brother had come to know the name of their rescuer and found his charm to be quite exhilarating. They had quickly come to know that Nate was returning home and happened to fancy himself a comic book or two and talked to the pair of their concerns and interests in the newest comic release of the very Barbarian character that Elliot now found herself staring at.

She laughed almost aloud as she shook her head and placed the newspaper back onto the counter for a later read as Nate, dressed simply in a white t-shirt and faded blue jeans, came from the bathroom with a sigh. He looked beat and Elliot wouldn't have that. She flashed him her award-winning smiles that she knew would make any man melt and she started over to him when the cry of their child pierced the soothing melody of the radio playing on the kitchen table.

"No, no. It's alright, Ellie. I'll get him. You enjoy your coffee." Nate had spoke, his voice genuine as he left back down the halls to the bedroom where their sons' crib lay.

Elliot wondered how in the world she could have gotten so lucky to have been able to marry a man like Nate. What he ever saw in her, it was well beyond her. She smiled anyway and questioned it no further as she looked to the small television set in their front room, polishing off her coffee now that she had grown numb to the fiery burn of its contents.

Within a few moments, Nate had come back into the room with Shaun in his arms as she leaned against the little bookshelf next to their front door. She smiled affectionately towards their son as he had finally settled down with Nate pressing a small bottle of milk to the childs lips. They were watching something about the news as Codsworth had been cleaning out a glass before setting it into its place in the higher cabinet.

"Uh-oh. Looks like that man from earlier is here. Vault-tech." Nate had said with sarcastic concern.

Elliot found herself rolling her eyes. That would make the third time this week that man had come to their doorstep trying to offer them up some mumbo-jumbo insurance for some End-of-the-world scheme. The first time she had opened the door thinking it was a man coming to check on the status of their Mr. Handy unit until he started firing off his mouth regarding the insurance. The second time he had come by, she pretended not to be home and with luck, Nate had left to buy some Sugar Bombs they had run out of.

Now, with their car sitting under the port and the tv on, there was no escape. With a sigh, she quickly slapped on a smile and smoothed out her white floral dress and opened the door, greeting him with a smile that she would often greet with her friends.

"Good morning! Vault-tech calling! We're here about you, ma'am. Helping to secure your future! You see, Vault-tech, is the foremost built of state-of-the-art, underground fallout shelters. Vaults, if you will! Luxury accommodations. Where you can wait out the horrors of nuclear devastation. You can't understand how happy I am to be speaking with you. I've been trying for days. It's a matter of utmost urgency. I assure you." The man dressed in his snazzy tan suit spoke, a somehow serious expression now on his face as he met her steady blue gaze.

She stifled an outward sigh before she glanced to Nate who only looked at her with a warm smile, urging her to play nice. "Yes... I'm sorry about that. We've been busy, you know. Preparing for Halloween, but I am here now."

"Haha. So you are, ma'am. So you are. Now I know you're a busy woman, so I won't take up much of your time. Time.. Time being, uh... A precious commodity. I'm here today, to tell you that because of your family's service to our country, you have been pre-selected for entrance into the local Vault! Vault... 111." He said with such stupor that he even waved his hands in the air for emphasis.

Elliot cringed. She didn't truly buy into the whole end-of-the-world thing and with Halloween so close, she felt that it was nothing short of a scam. She desperately wanted to slam the door right into the man's face, teaching _him_ not to come to _her_ doorstep with this psycho-babble. Instead, she felt her husband's grace as he stepped up from the sofa and stood by her side. If she knew her husband, he was going to indulge in the man at least.

"We have a family. That would include all of us, right?" His husky voice came, the one she had fallen so desperately in love with.

"Why yes! Of course! Minus your robot naturally. In fact, you are all already cleared for inhabitants! It's just a simple matter of filing for some information. Don't want there to be any hold-ups in case of the.. Eheh. Unfortold scene of atomic annihilation. It won't take but a moment." When the man had begun to see that Elliot's expression was a little more than dissatisfied, he feared the worse in her shutting the door in his face. Unaware that that thought had already crossed her mind.

"Vault 111 is well-equipped with amenities for the common house-hold dwelling, I assure you! Not to mention, total protection from total radiation and hostile mutants. A better future underground. It's not only our mission, it's our passion."

"Huh. The apocalypse? Well, hell! Sign me up!" Elliot slipped through her husbands charm and leaked out some well-deserved dose of sarcasm.

Clearly, the Vault-tech salesman did little to understand her innuendo. She would have to work on that. "Haha! That's the spirit! Now.. Let's see..."

He handed over to her a clipboard and a fancy blue pen marked with a lovely complimentary yellow, no doubt the colors that deemed the Vault-tech establishment familiar. The questions mattered very little to Elliot as she scanned them over rapidly with her sky-blue eyes. She quickly checked random boxes, keeping the simplest of questions she caught glimpses of true to their word. Her marital status and the number of children she currently had. As well as her name. Elliot. Elliot Alisworth. She did little to hide the smirk that spread across her face as she clicked in the top of the pen before she smiled smugly at the salesman in his funky snazzy suit and handed over the clipboard to him when she had finished.

"Wonderful! That's everything. I'm just gonna.. Walk this over to the Vault. Congratulations on being prepared for the future!" He had said as he took a jerk step back off of their front step and away towards the van he had come in.

Of course, Elliot didn't see him walk away as she slammed the door just then and let out an elaborate sigh that she had apparently been holding. She shook her head as she met her husbands' gray eyes and pursed her lips.

"Did you _have_ to indulge in that crazy man's antics?" She moaned as she walked over to him and softly kissed his cheek. Nate smirked then, knowing just how to push her buttons.

"Hey, now. It's just a little piece of mind. Besides, it didn't cost us a thing. No harm done." He soothed her, rubbing his hands down her soft skin and she couldn't help but to return his smile with one of her own.

He was right of course. No harm done except for the headache she had now had. Elliot wasn't exactly a people person. She hadn't been from the moment of her birth. Awkward associations especially with random people really got to her. Codsworth had just finished putting away one of the dishes from the drain into its' place when she and Nate had taken a seat.

It wasn't all but a few moments into their settling into one another that their son started to cry again and Codsworth chimed up from his hovering in the hallway. "Mum. Lord Shaun has already been changed and fed but he will just not settle down. I think he needs the caress of a mother at this time."

Elliot smiled. The way Codsworth spoke always fascinated her and made her giggle. She looked to Nate then, silently asking his permission to leave his arms. He returned her smile warmly and let her go. "Go ahead, hon. I'll be in there in a second."

He took her hand and softly kissed it as she stood to her feet and let her go. She stepped into their sons' room and walked over to the crib where Shaun lay, waving his arms and crying for attention. A motherly wave of adoration washed over her as she gently wound up the rockets atop his crib. The same rocket mobile that Nate had fixed a couple days ago after a slight malfunction in its' make. Simple. Nothing too hard to fix.

Soon as she wound it up and it spun, a soft melody filling the room as it moved and Shaun quieted down then, fascinated with the moving object. "My little man isn't giving his mother any trouble, now is he?" Nate's voice came from the doorway and he watched as his wife took loving care in the way she handled the mobile rockets. The same care that had so often won over his affection and led to the creation that now lay in front of them.

"Listen, hon. After breakfast. I was wondering if you would like to go to the park for a bit? The weather looks nice today and should hold up until later in the evening. What do you think?" He asked now, stepping into the room and wrapping his arms lovingly around his wife.

She smiled and fell into his warmth, pressing her head gently against his jaw. "That sounds absolutely wonderful to me. When we get back, we can carve pumpkins for Shaun's first Halloween. I've got some wicked cool ideas."

"Sir! Mum! You should come and see this!" Codsworths' sudden jarring tone ran them both rigid. Sure, Codsworth had an uncanny tendency to overreact for some things, but truly, something sounded off then in his voice that made them both rush from the room to his aid.

"... Followed by flashes... And sounds of explosions.. We're, uh.. Trying to get 've seem to have lost contact with the, uh.. Following stations-" Elliot moved slowly towards the window that displayed the neighborhood they lived in. Several of their neighbors, their friends, were busying themselves packing away suitcases into the back of their cars while several more scrambled making their way down the road. "We.. We do have.. Coming in... That's uhm.. Confirmed reports-.. They're.. They're confirmed reports of nuclear detonation in New York and Pennsylvania. My god-.."

Elliot stepped away from the window then, her heart just about stopping in her chest as she turned to face the television as the screen flashed to a readied "Stand-By". She hardly heard the sirens off in the distance as her entire world slowed. Nate was just coming from the hallway with Shaun in his arms, his face creased with worry as he stepped by her and opened the door.

"Elliot!" His voice snapped her to and she shook her head. Her family's safety was what she needed to focus on now.

"We need to get to the Vault!" She cried, unable to keep the fear in her voice from breaking through.

"I've got Shaun! Let's go!" Nate said and his wife hardly had time to look back at her home. Hardly had time to see Codsworth floating in the doorway as they ran out the door.

"RESIDENTS OF SANCTUARY HILLS. IF YOU ARE REGISTERED, EVACUATE TO VAULT 111, IMMEDIATELY." Elliot listened vaguely to the man over the intercom giving the residents instructions. Like anybody in their right mind would stop and listen to them anyhow. Her heart raced as she ran after Nate and Shaun, her skirt fluttering out from underneath her heals. She picked a terrible day to break-in the heels she had bought. All around her, people she called friends ran among each other for the safety of the Vault. Most of them stopped and stared, almost like they were just _waiting_ for the bombs to fall. Elliot, however, did not want that chance. She would gladly leave it to her imagination what they looked like.

As they ran passed the small river that was fed behind their houses, Elliots' blue eyes wandered to the sky. Almost tripping over her heels, she gasped and quickly caught herself, wincing as her hands scraped the soil. She swiftly snapped to then, pushing herself beyond the pain as she ran to catch up to her family, only to come to a heart wrenching sight.

"That's absurd!"

"Open up the gates!"

"But I am on the list!"

Elliot heard different people cry. People whose voices were familiar yet strange to her. Voices that belonged to her neighbors. Voices that belonged to her friends. Voices... That belonged to the very people she cared about.

"I'm going in!" The familiar cry of the Vault-tech salesman came higher than the rest as he tried to push his way past the guards. Immediately there were cries of panic as the soldier he shoved pulled out a gun, aiming it straight at the tech with a hard stare.

To Elliot, though, that gun meant very little if it meant that her family would live. So let this foolish guard stand in her way to the Vault. The one place that would provide sanctuary to the threat that they now all faced.

"Excuse me!" She heard herself cry out as she came to a stop in front of the guard, staring him down with ice-chips that now replaced her usual calm blue eyes. "We need to get in. We're on the list. Alisworth."

The guard stared her down, his dark green eyes showing no mercy as he faced this woman dead-on. In an instant, he looked at the clipboard his counterpart held and looked back to the dark-haired woman. Whether she was crazy or just crazy brave, he somehow admired her.

"Male. Infant. Female. Okay, go ahead." He finally said and stood aside, however keeping his gun on the people that crowded around behind the small family.

"What?! Why them!"

"That's not fair!"

"We're on that list, too!"

The cries of their neighbors rang through Elliot's ears once more and as the man with the clipboard began to lead them further up the hill, she gently held onto Nate for support, casting her icy gaze on the obvious egghead. "What about all those people? Some of them are on that list!"

"We're doing everything we can, now keep moving!" The man called before he continued on, leading the family further up the hill where several military-standard trailers stood, Vertibird circling around in the skies above them no doubt providing extra support in case things went awry.

"In the cirle! On the platform! Get in the circle and on the platform, now!" Cried a soldier off to the side, his hand hovering dangerously close to a red button. Elliot stared wide as the people on the platform were very few. A startling very few. She counted only three people standing scared on that platform. All returning her fears reflected in their eyes.

One woman cowered on the platform, her knees to her chest as she rocked back and forth, tears streaming down her cheeks unchecked and the two other men staring around amidst the confusion. The sirens had died down then, only becoming an even further wailing. Quickly becoming nothing more than just background noise against the terror that they all felt.

"Is Shaun okay?" Elliot asked as she whipped around to her husband to find him unnervingly calm. She wondered how in the world he could look like that when their very lives were at stake and it was then that she remembered he was trained in this sort of thing. Despite his obvious love for her and his son, he rarely showed any other emotion, especially fear, when it came to everyday things.

"He's fine, hunny. He's fine." He said in that calm voice of hers. "We're going to be okay." She almost believed him.

Then there it was. The flash. So blinding. Like the sun. And the explosion. God, the explosion was deafening.

"Oh, God!" a man cried, his voice faltering as he stared directly at the flash of light off in the distance.

Elliot then turned around sharply, gasping and nearly lurched to the ground as her heart skipped several beats. She saw it. The heavy cloud billowing up into the sky. A mixture of yellow and oranges she had only seen light up the sky when the sun had set. Rings of smoke disturbing what once was that of a calmed sky. She heard it then before she felt it. The impact of the bomb that she was rapidly approaching them. Bending down trees and cutting down buildings in it's wake.

"DOWN! SEND THEM DOWN NOW!" Screamed a soldier, his location all lost to her now as she wrapped her arms around her husbands' waist, hugging tightly to him now as she pressed her breast to her him, protecting the infant child between them.

A sudden lurch. The faint groan of gears shifting and pulling, and the platform they stood upon slowly moved down the shaft. Their heads were just clear of the opening ring when the impact hit them. Smoke blew over the top, shrouding over them like a heavy and suffocating fog. The smoke rapidly filled Elliots' lungs and her eyes burned as she squeezed them shut. She heard Shaun cough and cry out and she opened her blue eyes again to nothing but the darkness that now consumed them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two- Vault 111

When Elliot opened her eyes again, they were met with the darkness that had consumed herself and the others around her. The estranged cries of her neighbors seemed unfamiliar as they panicked while the platform they stood on made its' ever slow descent into the one thing that would keep them alive and safe. However, those people didn't matter to her at the time. Nor did the people who were left on the surface matter anymore. The only thing that _did_ matter to her at the time, was her family.

She forced herself to squeeze the waist of her husband, more an acknowledgment for herself that he was still right next to her and not doomed to whatever fate was left aboveground. He was there and he was breathing, still holding firmly to their infant son with a grip that was gentle, but not gentle enough that anyone could rip the baby from him. Elliot found herself able to smile against the hell they had just went through.

She had her family there with her and that was all that mattered to her now. Though she was concerned as she tilt her head back and stared up at the never-ending blackness that now was the entrance to the vault itself. She wondered desperately if there would be any light. The blast had come so quickly, probably a lot more soon than anyone had thought. A lot of good people were left behind on the surface and Elliot shuddered, left with her vivid imagination of what became of her friends.

"Sh.. It's alright. We're safe now." Elliot's husband spoke quietly to her, and only her.

He knew more than anyone else how much Elliot's imagination was a blessing, but also a curse. While it was an endless spout for her creativity, it also left room for nightmares during the night and terrors during the day. It was a double-edged sword, if you asked Nate. He often wished that she could overcome such vivid ailments but her imagination left no room for fight.

So when she went rigid against him, Nate knew exactly why. She was left to her minds' sick and cruel reality, no doubt forcing her to imagine herself what happened on the surface. Nate was assured that's exactly what was going through her mind as, finally, the faintest of light broke the darkness that seemed to never let up.

Elliot seemed to sigh in relief, coming back to the world now that a new light filtered in. She stared up at her husband a moment before she hesitantly turned around. He held firmly to her shoulder with one hand while the other held their son close to his chest. The other three that had made it to the platform with Elliot's family, all seemed to stand stock-still, as they watched with uncertainty, the scenery unfolding before them.

The platform steadily groaned to an end, the gears slowing as they came to a complete stop. A strong light now shed on them, revealing their paled faces. Almost immediately, the small group were met with two men donned in white lab coats and Elliot quickly hoped that they were doctors. She felt like she needed her head examined to make sure that she had not gone insane.

"I know this is difficult for all of you, but please, make your way off the platform and follow me." One of the men had said as he and his partner turned, gently urging the group to follow.

Elliot hesitated. "What about everyone on the surface?" As soon as she spoke, she knew it was stupid question.

As stupid as it was, the man ahead of them turned his head slightly to look back at her, his expression unreadable, "There's nothing more we can do for them. Please, follow us so we can get you ready for the vault."

Was all he had said in response before leading them ahead on a grated walkway. Ahead of them, to Elliot's surprise, were a steady line of people, all standing and waiting while a couple more people in white had started handing out the familiar blue and yellow uniforms, neatly folded and airlocked in a sealed bag. Soldiers were spread out among the crowd, surely to keep everyone in check. The thought made her skin crawl.

Underneath the Earth's surface, it was a surefire way to stir up more panic to have armed forces handling civilians rather than someone to atone for their grief. Several of the doctors had taken a keen interest in Elliot and her family, she noticed, and for a split second, she felt protective of her baby boy. She leaned in against Nate as it came their turn to retrieve the new uniforms.

"Standard Issue Vault 111 jumpsuits. One for each of you. Please, follow ahead for safety precautions and change into your new outfits as soon as possible." Said the woman who was readily handing out the plastic-covered uniforms.

"Suits? Why can't we keep our own clothes?" Elliot felt herself blurt out, whether it was for her own attempt to keep herself calm or the simple fact that she didn't want to give up the only other thing she had that was left of their home.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, it's precautions. We don't want any sort of contamination in the vault. Surely you understand? We wish to keep all our patrons as healthy as possible." Contamination? Elliot's thoughts whirled once more until she sighed with resignation. Radiation, is probably what they were referring to. That, or something else entirely that the eggheads weren't saying.

Elliot nodded then as she took a suit for herself and then one for her husband. Nate pressed his lips softly to his wife's cheek and assured her in a whisper, that everything was going to be alright. He gently urged her forward, following another woman in white. When they stopped at a chamber fitted with airlock doors, she waved her head before them, giving a slight nod.

"If you would step through here, please and take off your clothes and change into the Vaultsuit." She had said and Elliot sighed.

It wasn't that she wasn't used to stripping down in front of Nate, but the scenery. The _reason_ why she had to change was what bothered her. She and Nate followed the direction into the chamber and as the door sealed shut, both husband and wife exchanged turns to slip out of their normal attire into what they would wear for the rest of their lives. Elliot blushed as she looked at her husband and smirked, the suit well-defining every natural curve of his body. Even holding Shaun showed the toned muscles in his arms and within moments, they felt a light pressure in the air as every particle of whatever was removed from their bodies.

"Huh. That wasn't so bad." Elliot voiced, shrugging at her husband nonchalantly as she tried to hide the real fear she felt.

Nate turned down her fears with a smile and grinned as he placed his hand to her back as the opposite doors opened with a hiss, revealing a long hallway and another doctor standing in wait. Elliot could have groaned. She was tired already of seeing so many doctors in one place. It reminded her of a hospital and she _hated_ hospitals with a burning passion.

"Just this way." The man had said and without making sure they were following, he started down the hallways in silence.

"So... The vaults.. They're well-equipped, right? The man who.. Who signed us up said that there was enough equipment for the common household dwelling." Elliot forced herself to speak, trying to clear her head now.

There was a moment of silence before the doctor ahead of them spoke. Clearly trying to choose his words correctly. "Yes... All the Vaults scattered throughout Boston are heavily equipped for long-living and sustain a perfect amount of resources. So there's no worries."

Somehow Elliot doubted that as she looked around the hall they were walking down. Already they passed a few sliding doors that obviously held rooms and they even passed a mess hall, only to pass even more rooms that were all eerily empty. She turned her sky-blue gaze on the man in front of them then before she glanced up at Nate. He seemed to be deep in thought himself as they walked. Something didn't feel right about all of this, and she felt that it wasn't just the fact that they barely escaped the end of the world.

That's when Elliot took the chance to look at the man who guided them down the halls. He was middle-aged, short brown hair and wore a long white coat that reminded her of either a scientists' lab coat or a doctors wears. He wore thick, black-rimmed glasses that were pushed up against his nose and held by a little string that wrapped around the back of his neck. He wasn't ruggishly handsome and he definitely wasn't hard to look at, but something about the way he wore his blank expression worried her and set her on edge.

When they came down a hallway that had six other unique doors, she stopped and stared at him hard, almost willing to pick his brain telepathically. She sighed, it was worth a try when he stood in front of a keycoded lock and pressed in a sequence of numbers before the airlock doors hissed and maneuvered out of their sight, only to reveal a large room filled with strangely shaped containers.

The room was filled with other people and on either side in the dead center of the room, lay eight containers perfectly parallel to one another. Once again, Elliot's skin crawled and she hesitantly followed the doctor inside and down the steps leading to the eery rows of machinery. There were already doctors and soldiers standing among a few other inhabitants as they helped men and women alike into the oblong machines.

"Wait, wait, wait. We're not going in those, are we? Where are the beds? The rooms that-"

"All in due time, ma'am. This is just a precaution until we can get everyone accounted for. We don't want anybody getting hurt in case someone can't... Adjust to this new lifestyle." The doctor had interrupted her with his cool voice as he stopped in front of two more containers, both extremely identical in every way.

Elliot definitely didn't like the idea of the world ending, and she definitely didn't like the idea of being separated from her family. What finally drove her off the edge was that she _hated_ the idea of being locked away in some sort of chamber instead of the bedrooms they were promised! She shook her head then, her black hair falling about in front of her piercing blue eyes. She had quickly thought of a nasty comment and opened her mouth when Nate spared the man before them, resting a hand upon her shoulder carefully.

"Hon. It won't be for very long. He has a point. Our family is important. Whatever we gotta do to make it easier for ourselves.. For our son.. We should comply." He said in his smooth voice as he watched her with those gray eyes of his.

With a sigh, Elliot resigned and jerked her head in the form of a nod before she stepped up to Nate, softly kissing the top of her sons' head. "It's alright, Shaun. Your father's got you. We'll see each other again, very soon."

Taking that as a moment of opportunity, the first soldier backed up the man in white that had led them down the halls and helped Elliot into her own chamber. It was surprisingly warm and comfortable and she settled into the seat, oddly relaxing, as she watched her son and her husband opposite of her, enter into their own.

She couldn't help but to still feel like something was amiss but she dared not say another word as the door swung down, ever so gently, and the locking mechanism shuttered before sticking to place. She watched as the same had corresponded with her familys' and she pressed her hand to the glass when a sudden chill came over her after the soldier held up his hand in the air and made a circular maneuver. Elliot hadn't a single moment to think as the cryochamber chilled her body to such a degree, freezing her in time with the palm of her hand pressed to the glass, her thoughts on her family.

... _Manual override initiate._

It was cold. So cold. Elliot strained to blink her eyes as the frost left her body. She stared ahead, shivering frantically, as her husband started to move. Defrosting himself and their baby boy. She could faintly hear the echos of Shaun's cry and she struggled as she raised a fisted hand and pounded at the frosted glass.

Again and again, she pounded on it but quickly gave up, gasping softly as the cold never left her body. That was when she heard the voices. They weren't very clear but she heard them and she strained to move herself so that she could see better. Down the rampway came a woman dressed in an entire wonky getup that took Elliot completely by surprise. _Had something gone wrong?_ She found herself asking as she watched the woman stop in front of Nate and Shaun's chamber as the airlock doors released and the door swung open on its arch.

Shaun's cries became even louder then and Elliot couldn't help but to cry. She desperately wanted to comfort her baby boy during this time and she was angry at how powerless she was. Perhaps, she was next to be let out. Perhaps the strange full-body suit was just another precaution? Though, no matter what excuse Elliot tried to come up with, she knew that that was not the case.

"I've got him." She heard Nate then and her attention snapped back to him as the woman tried to take their baby from her husbands' arms. "I'm not going to give you Shaun!"

He yelled and Elliot's heart lurched as movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She fixed her gaze on the man to her left, dressed in an outfit, weirder than even his counterpart. He wore a leather black jacket, ruffled, and a severely worn pair of jeans. That wasn't what was the weirdest thing on him. What took her attention was the strange ornaments that wrapped around his left arm. They looked kinda like robotic part. Machinery. Who their right mind would wear something so gawdy as that?

Her eyes widened when he slowly held up an odd-looking pistol in his hands, aiming it straight at her husband. "Let him go." Was all he had to say that made Elliot's skin crawl in fear.

She stared at her husband as she started to beat on the glass again, willing him to hear her and for the glass to give way. She gasped and everything seemed to grow quiet when a loud bang reverberated off the walls. Elliot screamed as a bulletwound had found it's way in between her husbands eyes. Tears streamed down her face unchecked, as she pounded defiantly on the glass as the woman took _her_ baby into her arms.

"Too bad." Came the icily calm voice of the man who had just murdered her husband in cold blood.

Elliot felt sick.

The woman already started down the ramp when the oddly dressed man had begun to follow her, only to come to a stop in front of Elliot's chamber. "At lease we still have the spare." He said as he leaned in and stared harshly at Elliot's writhing body.

It was in that moment that something deep inside of her welled up and she met the man's eyes, cold and what seemed to be a flash of uncertainty. It was at that moment that she condemned his face to her memory as anger boiled inside of her. A longing of which she had never felt before. She wanted so desperately to destroy the glass before her and to slaughter the man who had killed her husband and stolen away her son.

She was left with the feeling of hunger for revenge as she watched the man walk away from her view and her breathing became harsh and shallow as she stared ahead, her husbands' broken body the last thing she saw before the chilling cold overcame her once more.

 _Cryosleep override. Remaining participants, please evacuate immediately._

Elliot's eyes squeezed shut as a coughing fit overcame her entire body. She gasped and shivered from the cold and the familiar release of airlocked doors forced her to open her eyes. She blinked, willing away the sheer cold she felt as the door swung open on rusted hinges. A sound that she would remember for a long time. Still pressed up against the glass, she let out a soft yell as she fell to the floor with a thud.

She groaned. _Not much for a welcome._ She thought as she sat up, wincing at her now skidded knees. The frost was only just leaving her limbs as she brought her arms about her and rubbed down her arms. She was disoriented at first, not truly remember where she was until it hit her.

"Nate!" She called out in a voice that she didn't recognize as her own as she whipped her head around to the chamber directly in front of her own. What she desperately hoped for to be a dream, suddenly became a twisted and cruel reality as her husbands' body remained enclosed in his frozen sleep. "Oh, Nate..." She whimpered as she grunted and forced herself to her feet.

It took a moment for her to get her bearings and she stumbled over to the frozen pod that encased who once was the love of her life. She fumbled around the chamber before her fingers grazed the button to release his own lock and she fell back in surprise as the familiar hiss rang in her ears. She watched through pained eyes as the door lifted away to reveal her husband. Still with the bulletwound in between his eyes and her now missing son.

 _How long has it been?_ She wondered as she stared with despair at her husband. Carefully, Elliot stood back up and lightly brushed Nate's frozen cheek, choking on her own bile as it rose in her throat. She backed away slowly, with a vengeance to find their missing child, slapping her hand on the controls that shut the door once again to his deathbed.

Elliot's sky-blue eyes scanned the darkness around her. Occasionally, a flash of red light would illuminate the darkness, but only for a split second before she was enclosed once again. The entire room sent chills down her spine and it wasn't from her recent sleeping experience. The room she had left in right after the bombs fell were pristine. Well-swept and well-lit. What she was staring at now was nothing short of... Old. Decayed. The lighting that hung on ceiling now had been long broken away and hanging barely on their hinges. Broken glass scattered everywhere and she could have sworn she saw what was the remnants of blood on the floor but she dared not stare anymore before she willed herself to move and keep going.

The first thing she knew she needed to do was find something that she could defend herself. Whether whatever, or whoever, she found was human or not, surely there would be no need for friendly greets. Steadily, she made her way up the familiar rampway and up the stairs to the door that she and her family had just walked through it seemed. The door was heavily rusted and she frowned. She was definitely out much longer than what she had hoped for. If she knew one thing, it was that metal didn't look like this in just a few short weeks. It took _years_ for something to resort to this level of decay.

She looked around and found a metal crowbar. An interesting trinket to say the least being down in the vault. She shrugged it off as she picked it up and jammed the tip against the door where it met its' frame. She grunted and pushed and pulled with all her might until finally, the door gave way and slid open. She signed softly as she slowly peered her head out, her heart racing frantically in her chest.

She squeaked and quickly sat back as a shadow cast itself along the far wall and disappeared just as soon as it had appeared. She was not alone. Shaking, Elliot gripped the end of the crowbar tightly in her hands as she took a cautious step out of the chamber room and into the dimly lit halls. She listened intently as whatever had given that shadow was now further into the vault than she was. Clattering around whatever was in the other rooms. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she knew that whatever it was, it stood between her and the way out.

Ever so cautiously, Elliot made her way down the halls, slipping past a few doors, and she had eventually come across a terminal that was somehow still active. Beneath the desk, she had found the body of one of the doctors who had helped escort them inside the vault. However, the only thing that remained of them was their skeleton and torn garments and nametag. Elliot cringed, knowing that even now, she was out for a very long time. For a body to become nothing but bones and dust? She was out for decades as far as she was concerned.

She knelt down then, anger rising within her as she stared at the broken body before her, kicking it over in her frustration. Underneath it, was a strange looking device. It looked to be some sort of portable computer. The screen was black and it had several knobs and buttons that confused her to no end. She picked it up, though and carefully rest her wrist inside of it, clamping down the rest of the band so that it wouldn't fall off.

Elliot turned her wrist over, this way and that, getting a feel for the strange device. She poked at the screen and nothing happened. Pursing her lips, she started prodding at the buttons and the screen suddenly came to life, showing her the vital signs that were clearly her own as her heart slowly started to decrease in its' frantic beating. She watched it a moment, her eyes adjusting to the harsh light until she managed to find the settings on it, and dimmed the light, changing it's color to something just a little more comforting to her.

A soft silver color now illuminated the darkness now permanently as she stood to her feet and she strode over to the terminal. A soft green character flashed off and on consistently and she pressed her fingers to the dusty board, sneezing as dust had found its' way into her nose. She sniffled as she wiped away the remaining dust and surfed through the different folders, finding one that had given her the option to unlock the main door.

Without a second thought, she quickly pressed down a little too hard on the key and to her right, the door had unlocked itself and opened, revealing the all-too-familiar way to freedom. She grinned and almost shout when suddenly the shadow came on display again and she shrieked, slipping underneath the desk with a now sizzling computer terminal.

She whined quietly as she pressed herself low to the ground and peered underneath the desk, looking for a better view as to what was in the other room. She gaped then as what crawled before her was the biggest cockroach she had ever seen. Not even her regular bug spray would kill something _that_ big and she gripped the handle to her weapon even tighter now.

Of course that thing would be in her way. She sighed ruefully as she willed all the courage she could muster and forced herself away from the desk and shuffled over as quietly as she could to the doorway. Her skin crawled the closer to came to the door and the little, not so little, bug milling about on the wall. She grit her teeth as she carefully shimmied herself against the opposite wall. It hadn't heard or seen her yet and she hoped that she would be able to keep it that way so she could find a better vantage point.

She turned her gaze hesitantly to her left and gasped quietly as her eyes lay on a 10mm pistol with ammo sitting beside it, just begging to be grabbed. She carefully slipped the crowbar onto her belt and slowly shuffled her way to the gun, occasionally keeping an eye on the bug as it still stayed on the wall opposite her.

Just a few more inches and she'd have the gun. When her foot kicked an empty bottle of glass, she groaned inwardly and snapped her attention to the bug which now was staring at her. She could _feel_ it staring at her. Within a manner of seconds, the bug sprang from it's perch and she screamed as she fumbled for the gun and snatched it up along with its' ammo. Swiftly, she kicked away from the bench it sat on and the roach missed her by a hair. With shaking hands, she unloaded her clip and slammed bullet after bullet into the cartridge before she slapped the clip back and cocked the barrel, aiming it not a moment too soon and fired the trigger.

The deafening ring surprised her as the bullet hit its' mark and the roach instantly met its death. She hadn't accounted for the remnants of the insect and she found herself covered in its slime as she wore the biggest frown she ever made and stood wearily to her feet. She looked herself over, its' green goo oozing from her chest as she wiped at it without success. She desperately wanted a bath.

Elliot found herself laughing though. She had never held a gun in her life. Being who she was, she was fascinated by the concept of weapons and found them useful to the heros in her comics but she never thought she, herself, would touch one. She did, however, and she managed herself a heros escape and she shook her head at the roach at her feet now, still freshly oozing its' intestines. She shuddered and kicked it from her, immediately regretting the action as she stepped away and headed down the familiar ramp that led to the entrance of Vault 111.

Relief flooded over her as she had run into no more of the unnecessarily large bugs. When she came to a gated platform with a cracked computer screen, she stared it over until she glanced to the elevator that she had taken to escape the explosion of the bombs. Biting her lip, she felt around her newly acquired computer, the PipBoy, and toggled off the light. She made her way down the stairs and onto the platform which had no longer kept up it's beautiful blues and yellows, retaining to all of its' other counterparts of rust and old.

With a heavy sigh, Elliot took one last glance around the vault she had taken shelter to and knew what she had to do. She slammed her hand down on the red button for the elevator, turning her head to the ceiling above her. If anything else, she would tear what remained of the world apart to find her son.


End file.
